DoJ to Kim Dotcom: We never asked you to retain files

Days ahead of what The Reg has been told will be an “unforgettable evening” at the Dotcom mansion to launch Kim Dotcom’s new Mega service, US authorities have refuted the brash entrepreneur’s insistence that the files he is being prosecuted for hosting were only there because Dotcom was asked to assist with other piracy investigations.

Dotcom came up with the defence last November, when he said that Megaupload had been asked to help the Department of Justice (DoJ) preserve files on the service said to have been placed there by another piracy operation called NinjaVideo. Dotcom said those files were among the ones the DoJ later used as examples of Megaupload itself being an uncaring pirate content to host stolen content.

The US Department of Justice’s latest filing in its case against the hacker formerly known as Kim Schmitz , posted to Scribd, says there’s no basis for the allegation it asked him to retain files to assist with an investigation. “Megaupload does not cite a single communication between the government and Megaupload or a single instruction from any member of the government to Megaupload.” The court filing says Schmitz points to no documents because “there are none.”

The DoJ is also dismissive of Dotcom’s recent legal moves, saying they pertain to the wrong documents, ask for unsealing of warrants that were never sealed and don’t address evidence of piracy on Megaupload. The filing therefore seeks to prevent any further hearings on the matter, so it can get on with the business of trying Dotcom as a pirate.

Dotcom’s usually-verbose Twitter account has not responded to the filing at the time of writing. ®